Friday, May 21, 2010

Following Up

I thought it might be a good idea to give an update on a couple of the things I’ve posted about before and have been keeping an eye on. This is the pot in which I planted the seeds and other debris left by Bluebirds roosting over the winter in the nest boxes. This pot is surrounded by several others and I decided that any plant that could be found in all pots could not be attributed to the Bluebirds. Those shared plants were removed from this pot.

The two most common plants are Japanese Honeysuckle, the opposite leaved plant in the lower center of the photo and Multiflora Rose, shown just above the honeysuckle. It’s no wonder these invasive species are so hard to control. With birds dropping the seeds everywhere, there will be no end to new seedlings. The third most common plant is some species of grape, shown in the lower right.

The seeds are maturing on the pot cultured Leavenworthia uniflora. Here are a few of the pods, some are still holding their seed and others have let the seed drop. Once all of the seed has matured, I’ll remove all plants from the pot and then get the dropped seeds ready for summer by lightly stirring and packing down the soil. Leavenworthia seeds need a period of warm weather to prepare them for germination in late winter.

I saved some of the seeds for distribution in likely growing areas around Blue Jay Barrens. I’m going to plant some on a few ant mounds to see if the Leavenworthia will grow in association with the Mound Builder Ants. Other winter annuals can do it, so I thought Leavenworthia might also.

The Yellow Lady’s Slipper orchid is still awaiting pollen. I’m assuming a pollinated flower would begin to wither as the plant began seed production. The bloom commonly lasts for several weeks before fading.

Edwards' Hairstreak Butterfly larvae are still spending all of their time in the tree. I check periodically to see if the ants have begun building a byre in which to store the growing larvae. The literature says that sometime around the larvae’s third molt, the ants will begin to take the larvae into protective custody at the base of the tree during the day. This should be happening soon.

The young oak leaves show increased signs of feeding, but I haven’t seen any larvae moving onto the leaves during daylight hours. During the day they seem to maintain a position that tends to mimic the buds and bud scales.

2 comments:

Thanks for the update. I'm esp. interested in the Edward's Hairstreak larvae and ant story. I'm not at all surprised about your pots! I battle invasives here on my own property to the point that I've almost given up! ~karen

Karen - Dealing with invasives can certainly be frustrating. To give myself a feeling of accomplishment, I took one section of trail that I walk frequently and got rid of all the invasives I could see. That way there was always one place I could walk without seeing any alien invaders. It helped a lot. Since then I've concentrated some of my work every year on places that I frequently see.

ABOUT BLUE JAY BARRENS

Located in the Bluegrass region of Southern Ohio, Blue Jay Barrens contains excellent xeric habitat inhabited by a wide variety of rare native plant and animal species. Since 1985, this private property has been managed to improve the integrity of the special ecosystems found here. This blog provides information on the current activities at Blue Jay Barrens.

RESPONSE TO COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BLOG

It’s my intent to share information on current events at Blue Jay Barrens. Unless otherwise noted in the text, all photos were taken by me at Blue Jay Barrens.

Plant scientific names are from Gleason and Cronquist 1991. I realize that some changes in preferred nomenclature have occurred, but this is the principle reference I have been using for flora identification. Knowing this, I believe most people can figure out just what plant I’m talking about.

My discussions of flora and fauna are not intended to be a complete life history. There are plenty of good references for this type of information. I am discussing my personal experiences with plants and animals on this specific property. Any other information I may provide is intended to help you understand the significance of my observations.

MY 3 FAVORITE NATURE BOOKS:

1- Of Mosquitoes, Moths and Mice, by C Brooke Worth.2- Mosquito Safari: A Naturalist in Southern Africa, by C Brooke Worth.3- A Naturalist in Trinidad, by C Brooke Worth.

MY 3 FAVORITE FICTION BOOKS:

1- The Witches of Karres by James H Schmitz2- The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham3- The Windhover Tapes (1st 3 volumes) by Warren Norwood

MY 3 FAVORITE MOVIES:

1- Vanishing Point 1971 with Barry Newman2- Flim Flam Man 1967 with George C Scott - also like the book by Guy Owens3- The Lathe Of Heaven 1979 with Bruce Davison - also like the book by Ursula K LeGuin

MY 3 FAVORITE TV SHOWS:

1- The Prisoner with Patrick McGoohan2- Fawlty Towers with John Cleese3- Kolchak: The Night Stalker with Darren McGavin